Josef Somr died on Sunday. He spent his last days in the Na Pleši sanatorium, his wife Alena Somrová said.
Somr has played more than 170 characters in films, his most famous role probably being that of storyteller Hubička, the fox-like seducer from Jiří Menzel’s Oscar-winning film of trains being watched.
Somr was born on April 15, 1934 in Vracov near Kyjova as the middle of three brothers in modest circumstances. As a child he also had to take care of the farm. His dream of working on the railroad failed and in the end he won. He graduated from JAMU in Brno in 1956 and immediately joined the Český Těšín theater.
He also gradually passed through theatrical stages in Brno and Pardubice. In 1965 he became a member of the Prague Drama Club, where he starred under the direction of Ladislav Smoček (Piknik), Jiří Menzel (Mandragora) and Jan Kačer (Crime and Punishment or Auditor).
In 1978 he took advantage of an offer sent to him by Miroslav Macháček of the National Theater. On the first Czech stage, he played, for example, the marshal in Čapkov’s White Disease, Klásk in Jirásk’s Lantern or Kunz in the production of Roku na vsi brátrí Mrštík’s Krobot.
He won his first Thália in 1998 as Pan František in Hrubín’s Romance for Flugelhorn, and his second four seasons later was a role in Donald Coburn’s play The Djinn, which he had already staged in Viola, where he is transferred from the National Theater. In 2014, he received the Thalia Award for Lifetime Acting Championship.
He made his film debut in 1964 in The Accused directed by Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos. His first big moment came two years later, when Jiří Menzel cast him for Watched Trains. His “stamp” scene has entered the history of cinema.
Somr has also left an indelible mark on the cinema and TV screens. At first he was placed in the boxes of various womanizers and scammers, but gradually began to portray more psychologically complicated types of characters with a tragicomic charge. He has always approached all film and theatrical roles with extraordinary diligence and humility, so he has become a recognized personality even among his colleagues.
Viewers remember him, for example, as tobacconist Soumar from the Once Upon a House series, retired military cook Servác from the fairy tale Three Veterans or Professor Ječmen from Klein’s five-part poet film series. In 2012 he received the Czech Lion for his contribution to cinematography.
He also received an award for performing on the radio, his pleasant voice can be heard, for example, in the hit series Tales of a Thousand and One Nights. He has been used several times by the creators of evening series, for example in Bubáce and Hastrmany.
The dark-faced successful actor was, like many of his colleagues, considered a shy and reserved person in private, but at the same time managed to entertain the whole company. His passions and his joyful moments included sitting in the cellar, singing and playing the dulcimer, in his native region the Ride of the Kings was often not missed. In 2005 he was awarded the Medal of Merit by the then President Václav Klaus.
